1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mobile devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to discovery of applications on mobile devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile device applications can be provided by manufacturers of the mobile device. Manufacturers that provide such applications may provide the mobile device for sale with such applications installed and ready for use. Users who buy such mobile devices are able to discover these various applications while browsing through the features of the mobile devices. The computing power and environment of the mobile device provide for the quality of user experience in operating such applications.
Entities other than manufacturers may wish to provide an application for use on a mobile device. The application may provide opportunities for marketing various services to the user of the mobile device. In some instances, however, these entities may not be able to provide applications to mobile devices as part of the original manufacture process. One presently available method for providing an application to a user's mobile device post point-of-sale is to send unsolicited messages concerning an application to the mobile device. Users, however, are unlikely to view or to trust information from unsolicited messages, and as a result, are unlikely to ever install or use the application.
Another presently available way to provide the application to the mobile device has been to provide the application over the Internet to, for example, a personal computing device. One issue with this option is the lack of discoverability on the part of the user. The user is less likely to discover the application where there is no indication from the mobile device itself. While some users may initiate a transfer from their personal computing device to their mobile device through a USB or other wired (or sometimes wireless) connection, a large number of users may not do so for lack of knowledge, ability, resources, and inclination.
Yet another available method for providing an application to a mobile device is to provide the application on a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. SIM cards are required for use of global system for mobile communication (GSM) mobile devices, which are presently the most common type of mobile device. A SIM card is a smartcard that includes, among other things, user subscription information and identifier information. SIM cards may further include a SIM Application Toolkit, which allows the SIM card to interact with various parties independent of the mobile device and to provide commands to the handset, including providing displays, and requesting and receiving user input. The SIM Application Toolkit may be defined in GSM 11.14 or 3GPP 31.111 standards for 2G and 3G networks, respectively.
For various reasons including security, the platform of a SIM card cannot install applications to the platform of the associated mobile device. Any application provided on a SIM card must therefore use the computing platform of the SIM card. Because the platforms of SIM cards are much more limited in computing power than the platform of the mobile device, the user experience provided by applications from the SIM card may be more limited and/or poorer in quality. As a result, the application provider may lose various advantages that come with providing the application. The user also loses any advantages of being able to fully use all application services on the mobile device. There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved methods and systems for application discovery on mobile devices.